


The Eighth Color

by Lumelle



Series: Counting Dwarves [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Genderfluid Character, M/M, Nail Polish, Nonbinary Dwarves, Other, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8873593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: When Dwalin is asked to babysit Nori's sibling who really is too old for babysitting, he expects nothing beyond an evening spent watching TV.He certainly does not expect a discussion about the lives that once were.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said the next work in the series would be Kíli/Tauriel, but that one just isn't happening, and I've been sitting on this one for months.

"You want me to do what?"

"I thought I was quite clear." Nori lifted his eyebrows. "Or did I stutter or something?"

"Just — you just asked me to babysit for you." Which had to be wrong somehow, there was no way Dwalin could have heard that right, because that didn't make any sense whatsoever. "Who would even trust you with their child?"

"Now, really, Dwalin, I'm just about ready to get insulted." Nori set his hands on his hips. "Dori, of course. Who else would be foolish enough to ever mistake me for a responsible adult?"

"Dori doesn't have children, though." Unless he had missed something very important in the family introductions. It was entirely possible, of course, he had been much more nervous than should have been possible over such a seemingly innocent thing and might well have missed some detail or another, but he was still fairly confident that a surprise child was not one of them.

"Sure he does. The kid's name happens to be Ori."

"But Ori's almost out of high school, right? Hardly the age that needs a babysitter for one evening." Never mind that Dwalin was quite sure Ori was more reliable than Nori, from what little time he had spent with the teen so far.

"You'd think so. I happen to agree with you, and so does Ori. However, well, you know Dori. He can never stop worrying about the strangest things." Nori shook his head. "Not even Dori would think Ori needs someone to watch them every moment, no. Except now Ori has an exam coming up, and Dori apparently has entirely missed the fact that Ori isn't me and doesn't actually need to be forced to study, so he wants to make sure there's someone in the house to make sure Ori does their studying."

"And you promised to do this?"

"I figured it'd be an easy way to get some points from Dori. Show up, watch TV for the evening, leave when Dori comes back. Except all of a sudden I need to meet a client today, and there aren't exactly many people I could ask to look after Ori, certainly not people Dori would consider suitable replacement babysitters." Nori sighed. "Just do this for me, all right? I'll owe you."

Well. Clearly this was serious, then; Nori rarely admitted to owing anyone anything. Not that this was truly surprising, as Dwalin thought about it. For all his grumbles and claims to the contrary, Nori was very fond of his siblings, and while he did sometimes seem to take delight in causing Dori to sigh and claim headaches Dwalin also knew he didn't like breaking his promises. Especially when those promises involved taking care of Ori.

Dwalin could understand that. He had lost too many people the first time around to take his responsibilities lightly this time.

"Fine," he sighed, because really, he had no actual reason to refuse. "Just remember, you owe me."

"I will absolutely keep that in mind." The kiss that Nori then planted on his lips was deep, long, and promised rather interesting ways for Nori to take care of this particular dept.

Well. Dwalin supposed an evening of watching TV wouldn't be that bad.

*

"I suppose I shouldn't ask you how your studying is going." Dwalin looked over to where Ori was sitting at the table, textbooks shoved to one side as they were very carefully painting their nails a screaming shade of pink.

"I'm all done." Ori shrugged. "Though really, I've been studying for days, but I left a little for tonight so I can actually tell Dori that I studied. You'd think he would know by now that I don't actually need to be forced into studying like Nori, but I suppose the word exam just shuts something down in his brain."

"Well, I have to sympathise. I wouldn't want to be the one trying to get Nori to do anything he doesn't want to." Dwalin gave up on the idea of finding anything worthwhile on the TV, and walked over to the table instead. Pulling out a chair opposite to Ori, he dropped down in it. "Interesting choice of colour."

"I like it." Ori smiled. "It's a good colour, pink. You know it's not on the actual light spectrum? Our brains just make it up since the eyes see blue and red at the same time but the brains know that can't be true."

"Suppose that explains why it's missing from the rainbow, then." Dwalin nodded. "You like pink, then?"

"Purple is my favourite colour, but pink is good as well." Ori very carefully closed the bottle of nail polish, clearly doing their best not to smudge the fresh colour. "It cheers me up."

"I would imagine it does." The shade Ori had on their nails was very nearly giving Dwalin a headache. "I wouldn't have thought you would choose such a strong shade, though."

"Oh?" Ori blinked, seeming surprised. "Why so?"

"Well, you know." Dwalin scratched the back of his head, wondering how he could say this in a way that caused the least offence. He still wasn't entirely clear on how Ori, well, worked, but he did know he didn't want to offend them. Nori had taught him better than that. "What if you're a boy tomorrow?"

"Then I'll be a boy with pink nails." Ori didn't seem overly concerned with this. "It's a choice, and I make a lot of choices that might not work for me every day. I keep my hair long for one thing, and have pierced ears, even though there are a lot of people who wouldn't think that's appropriate for a boy, either. But if I want to wear pigtails and cute earrings when I'm a girl, I need to deal with not being a very traditional boy. In this case, I want pink nails."

"I suppose that makes sense." Dwalin nodded slowly. "Besides, if anyone tells you boys can't have long hair or pierced ears, I'd be happy to set them straight." As Ori gave him a dubious look, he chuckled. "Trust me, I used to have pretty remarkable hair before I got sick of wrestling it into submission."

"I suppose I'll take your word for it." Ori smiled, fingers splayed wide to aid the drying process. A small braid fell away from behind their ear, coming to hang next to their face, and Dwalin found his eyes drawn to it.

Some of the things about his previous life were still rather distant, more reminiscent of stories he had heard than actual memories. Others were strong and vivid, as clear in his mind as though they had happened yesterday. And yet others mingled with the memories of his current life, with thoughts and habits revived from the old, so he could not tell where one life ended and another began.

It was this last kind of memories that assaulted him now, drawing all his attention to the small braid. He must have seen it before, could recall Ori always having it in their hair the few times Dwalin had actually met them as more than just another kid running around Dís and Tuli's house, but he had never paid too much attention. Now, though, it seemed he could not ignore the complicated design, the hidden implications it carried to none but those who could read it.

"Dwalin?" He must have been quiet for a while, because Ori sounded wondering, now, almost worried. Dwalin met their eyes for a second, seeing a question there. Slowly, deliberately, he pulled back one shirt sleeve, revealing the tattoo circling his wrist.

The design wasn't the clearest to begin with, the ink only a couple of shades darker than his skin. It was easy to overlook if one didn't know to look for it, and even then most missed the details. It was just as well, really. As far as he was aware, only one person besides himself had any idea about the meaning behind this particular design.

Except Ori took one glance at it, and their eyes widened in shocked recognition. "That's…" They reached out a hand, almost but not quite brushing Dwalin's skin, fingertips tracing along the inked lines just a hair's breadth away.

"Say it." It came out a bit rougher than it probably should have, but Dwalin suddenly needed to hear it, needed to confirm what he already suspected. "If you know what it means, say it aloud."

"It's a marriage braid, isn't it?" Ori's voice was quiet, their eyes still locked on the tattoo. "Except you wear it on your skin and not in your hair."

"Seemed the only way I was going to get it done." Dwalin paused. "You remember, then." He didn't bother asking, now.

"More or less, yes." Ori nodded, finally lifting their eyes to meet Dwalin's. "And you must remember as well, to bear this mark." They paused, then, seeming thoughtful. "And Nori?"

"He remembers, too." Which wasn't really his place to say, not when Nori hadn't shared it himself, but he knew well enough how poor his chances of successfully lying to a Ri were. And, well, clearly he now had information Nori didn't. "He was the first to remember, actually, then he triggered it for me. I had no idea about anything until he forgot himself one time and murmured to me in Khuzdul."

"I see." There was a soft look in Ori's eyes that did not belong on such a young face. But then, it seemed they were not as much of a child as Dwalin might have thought. "That seems like a pleasant way to remember."

"It was, once I gathered myself up from where I'd managed to flail my way all the way to the floor. Laughed his ass off at me, Nori did, but he did help me back up to the bed anyway." But now, Ori's words had made him curious. "How did you remember, then?"

"It… wasn't as nice for me, I'm afraid." Ori lowered their eyes once again, inspecting the brightly painted nails as though hoping for the right words to emerge from them. "I was at a party when I was fifteen. I wasn't feeling well, so I went to lie down in a dark room, and, well. Turns out when you filter music through a couple of walls, sometimes it gets very reminiscent of orc drums in the deep."

"Ah." What could he say to that? Even a lifetime away he remembered what the book had said, what Ori had once scratched down in his very last moments. Dwalin had been the one standing beside Nori when the news arrived, had held him in private later as Nori traced the words again and again. It would have been a horrid death, and Ori had still not been old for a dwarf, never old enough to die such a death of terror and darkness all on his own.

"It's fine." Ori's smile was rather faint, but at least they were smiling. Not that Dwalin took this to be any indication that they were actually happy, but they couldn't be too horrified by their subject matter if they could at least summon up a smile. "Fíli was there, and he'd got his memories even earlier, so I got confirmation that I wasn't going mad or anything pretty much right away. That, and he helped me deal with the worst of the memories, even if… even if he wasn't around for that part."

"And then he gave you that braid." Because there was no way Dwalin was going to touch on the subject of Fíli's past exploits right now. Preferably not ever.

"Yes, because he didn't get the chance last time." The smile was more genuine, now. "We got a chance to try again, and we're not going to waste it."

"How do you know that?" The question slipped out before Dwalin could stop it. "How do you know it is actually another chance? That things will be better this time?"

"Because of Tuli and Frerin." Ori sounded confident, so very confident, and Dwalin couldn't help but wonder how often they had told themselves that to be so sure. "Fíli's father is still alive, this time, he's been around to see Fíli grow up. And Frerin even went off into the army and then came back. More importantly, the Durin line never lost their fortune, so there's no reason for Fíli to get himself killed trying to regain it."

"I hope you are right there, kid." Because Dwalin could not bear to be wrong again. "I really do."

"I know I am." Ori's voice was firm, not budging an inch. "Because I'm planning on making the most out of this second time, and if anyone thinks they're going to steal this away from me, they've got another think coming." In that moment, they looked so fierce with their fine features and pigtails and pink fingernails, Dwalin would not have tried his luck even with a proper war hammer at hand.

"You're right, I'm sure." Dwalin paused, then cleared his throat. "So. Ah. You have any of that nail polish left?"

*

"Well, this is a change." Nori lifted his eyebrows, reaching out to take one of Dwalin's hands. "Ori's doing, I take it?"

"Who else's?" Dwalin stayed calm as Nori inspected his screaming pink fingernails. "I think I like them. Can't wait to see Thorin's face when he sees them."

"He'll probably say something about how they don't quite fit your image as the intimidating head of security."

"Bullshit." Dwalin finally caught Nori's hand in his in turn, tugging down until Nori fell down into his lap where he was sitting on the couch. Not that Nori truly resisted, of course. "Takes a real man to wear pink like this, you know."

"You really have been talking with Ori." Nori leaned against Dwalin's chest. He still fit quite comfortably in Dwalin's arms, for all that Dwalin wasn't quite as bulky as he had been in their previous lives. "So I take it the evening went well?"

"The kid studied what they needed, we bonded over nail polish, Dori came home at a respectable hour. No problems there." Dwalin hesitated, not sure how much he should say. Ori hadn't given him permission to share their secret, as such, but on the other hand, Ori must have realised that anything they didn't ask Dwalin to keep a secret might end up in Nori's ears. "Some of what we talked about was… interesting."

"Oh?" Nori's eyebrows popped up again. They were still as expressive as ever, even if they were somewhat less impressive in this life. "Interesting in what way?"

"You ever wonder why Ori always wears that braid nowadays?" This, he hoped, was safe. After all, it was a conclusion Nori might have drawn on his own. "It's — the design ever remind you of something?"

Nori blinked, then muttered a curse. "You can't be saying —"

"They remember." And oh, the things the poor kid remembered. "I'd rather not share anything much, it's not my place. But — you might want to talk with them."

"Right." Nori ran a hand over his face. "Christ. I never wanted — not them."

"It's not all bad, if that helps at all." Not if it meant Ori had Fíli, and Fíli had Ori. "Just, talk with them, okay? I told them we both remember, so they'll be expecting it. We talked some, but — I don't know them that much, not this time. They've always just been the polite kid who hangs around Fíli and Kíli. I think they need to talk with you about this whole thing."

"I will." Nori's expression was unreadable for a moment, then he sighed. "Well. I was all prepared to make fun of your nails some more, but now you've really taken it out of me."

"Sorry about that." Dwalin leaned in to steal a quick kiss. "I'm sure I can do something else you can make fun of."

"Or you could just distract me from that mess altogether." Nori shifted, straddling Dwalin's lap now, and really, distractions were clearly happening already.

"As I recall, you owe me a reward," he rumbled, setting his hands somewhat possessively at Nori's hips. Nori retaliated by grasping his wrist, fingers tracing the inked braid there, and Dwalin shivered despite himself.

"Would you look at that, I do believe I do." Nori hummed, then leaned in to kiss him properly. That suited Dwalin just fine.

Even before he had found his memories, Nori's body had seemed familiar in all the best ways.


End file.
